The Story of Me
by Among-Stars
Summary: I wasn't a cheerleader. I was never voted Homecoming or Prom Queen. Half the people at my school I was sure didn't even know my name. I was nothing special. So what was it about me that made him so interested? What did I have that those beautiful cheerleaders and homecoming and prom queens didn't? Whatever it was, it brought him to me. Fate brought Troy Bolton to me.
1. Chapter 1

The Story of Me

Chapter 1

The first day back to school. Always the worst no matter what the situation. I had been dreading it since the last day of school and now here it was again…crap!

As I walked down the hall, no one seemed to pay any attention to me. No one really noticed me, but I was pretty used to that. Gabriella Montez, that's who I am and I am pretty much invisible at East High and I have been for the last 3 years of my high school existence; a wallflower I guess you could call me. And no, this is not some spin off of _The Perks of Being a Wallflower_, this is my own personal story about my life and high school and how it came to be what is it, sort of how I survive day to day.

This is the story of me.

Arriving at my locker, I sighed and struggled to open it. But don't worry, this usually happens to me, year after year. I was bumped continuously by people who could care less about me as I continued to try and work my locker open. A body appeared next to me just then and when I turned my head I was glaring into the face of Taylor McKessie.

She ignored my mean look and moved around me, hand reaching for the dial on my locker. "Cheer up," she said, shifting her back on her shoulder opening my locker with ease and then lightly patting my arm as she stepped back. "It can't be that bad yet, it's not even 9."

I shrugged moving to get my books. "Yeah, but it's 8:20 and I'm sure my life will turn to hell before the first bell even rings."

I could feel her rolling her eyes, even though I wasn't even looking at her. "It won't go to hell, Gabi. You just have to look on the bright side of things."

I turned to her and slumped back against the door of my locker. "How do you even do that?"

"Do what?"

"Open up my locker so easily and then spout all this crap about how nice my day is going to be even though you and I both know it's going to suck."

She smiled. "It's my own little secret. C'mon, let's get to homeroom."

We started down the overly crowded halls of East High School and I shrank instantly to avoid being hit and knocked around by the kids who never noticed me, but of course that attempt was futile because as my luck would have it I would get slammed by a rock hard body and end up lying on my back splayed out on the floor.

"Gabs?" I heard Taylor's voice calling out to me, but I lost her in the crowd as people kept on walking, forcing her to move with the flow and I stayed on the floor, every one walking around me. I stared at the ceiling before I actually noticed a body that was still next to mine. I turned my head to look at the person and I instantly wished I hadn't when I saw the perfectly flawless face staring back at me.

Troy Bolton knelt beside me staring both intently and curiously at me while I, kid you not, stare back blankly, my mouth hanging open a bit. "Are you okay," the sexily husky voice of his asked me.

I nodded, not being able to find the voice to answer him and no intentions of trying to get up on my own to move from the position on the floor I was currently in. I did, however, watch him as he stood and stretched that long muscle-y hand out towards me. "Need help getting up?"

Nodding again, I placed my hand in his and let him pull me upright (all on his own with the one arm, I might add) and into a steady standing position. I watched as he quickly bent over after I was stable and picked up all of my belongings that had gone flying, straightening himself out and gently handing them to me, giving me a dazzling bright white smile. That perfect Troy Bolton smile.

"Sorry about that," he apologized when he spoke next. "I tend to not pay attention in the hall, it's a habit. You kind of have to keep your guard up in these halls." I stared at him, my mouth still hanging because I was still pretty shocked at the whole happening.

He scratched the back of his head, glancing around the empty hallways. "Err, can you…are you sure you're okay? Can you talk? I hope I didn't…"

"No!" I forced out, startling him a bit. "I mean, yes, I…I can't talk. Uhm," I coughed. "I'm sorry."

He smiled at me again. Oh_ that adorable smile_! "What are you sorry for? I bumped into you."

I shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. I just thought it was appropriate to say."

"Oh, well I'm Troy," he said politely.

"I know," I answered almost immediately. _Shit, Gabriella! Do you know how creepy that sounds?_ "I mean…everyone knows who you are."

I couldn't help but notice the frown that overtook his face. "Right, so uh…I should get to class. But you're okay right?"

I nodded.

"Cool, then uhm, I'll see you around."

I could only watch stupidly as he rushed down the hall and around the corner. It took me a minute to realize that I should follow his lead and get to my own class. _I have never…GOD, Troy Bolton!_

* * *

"Mom! I'm home," I called into the house later that week. I was pretty sure the house was empty and if it wasn't, it might as well be because my mother would have problem come home and locked herself in her office by now. And generally she could stay in there forever unless she was hungry.

"Mom's out at a meeting," my brother Charlie answered as I walked into the kitchen and he came down the back stairs by the sliding glass doors leading into our backyard.

"What are you doing home?" I questioned him. "I thought you had tutoring? It is Thursday right?"

He shrugged, opening up the fridge and scanning it before pulling out two slices of bread and some cheese before stuffing it in his mouth. "I blew it off."

"Blew it off? Charlie you have to pass that class! You already failed it once."

"Chill out, I just didn't feel like going today. I needed a break."

"Charlie…"

"Don't worry I've got it covered," he answered me in between chewing. "I'm heading out."

"What? Where?"

"With Tommy."

"Who's Tommy?"

"A friend."

"A friend? I hope he's not one of those constantly stoned idiots…"

"Look, Gab, the last I need is another lecture. You're my sister, not my mom."

"Your older sister, might I add, who knows a lot more than you do, so you should probably take my advice."

"Well when I need advice, I'll ask you for it. It's not like you've done anything worth asking about. You sit at home all the damn time."

I swallowed whatever I was about to say and looked down at my feet while Charlie sighed. "I'll try to be back around dinner. Tell mom I'm at the library or something." He said and disappeared out the house before I could saying anything else in protest to him.

And once again, here I am left alone. As always.

* * *

I had been working hard on my homework when I glanced up at the clock to see it was already past 6. With my mom not being home, I figured it would be up to me to get dinner started tonight. If anyone decided to come home and eat with me anyway, that would be a miracle. I was used to fending for myself; it happened a lot more than one would expect.

Getting up, I searched the pantry and the refrigerator for something to make before it occurred to me that I never checked the mail today. Without hesitation, I trekked outside to the mailbox without shoes, opening it to find a few bills and my mom's weekly paycheck, but of course what I really wanted to be in there wasn't. My Stanford letter. I was beginning to think I'd never hear back from them.

Sighing I closed the box and got ready to head back into the house when there was an adamant pull and tug on the leg of my jeans.

"Arthur!" I heard a yell as a figure appeared jogging down the block. I looked down to see a golden retriever with his mouth hooked on the leg of my jeans, pulling on it playfully to get my attention. At this, I bent over to softly stroke his fur and he instantly tried to get closer to me, his paws rising and attempting to lift his body up into my lap by resting on my bent knees. "Arthur, stop!"

As I continued to pet his head, his tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted, his tail wagging uncontrollable and excitedly in response. At least I know now that dogs like me.

"I'm sorry," the figure said as he approached me. "He's usually so over friendly, it's hard to control him once he gets all determined and has his eye set on someone. He pulled right out of his lease when he saw you from down the block."

I stood up, getting ready to tell the middle aged owner of the dog that it was okay, but then I saw the face of the dog owner and that it wasn't a middle aged man like I'd expected it to be, but instead a familiar face.

"Troy?"

He smiled, noticing it was me as well. _Oh God! That smile again._ "Hey, Gabriella right?"

I stopped about to ask him how he knew my name but he did that adorable head scratch thing again that I'm assuming only happens when he's nervous. But seriously, Troy Bolton nervous around me? _Get real!_

"I asked around," he answered before I could say anything. "I hope that doesn't sound weird."

"Uhm, kind of. But it's just because I didn't expect you to get an answer that way. I wasn't even sure people knew who I was."

"Well you'd be surprised. I think there's quite a few people out there who know who Gabriella Montez is and I think they like you too," he smiled with a wink_. Did he just wink at me? I swear I'm going to die!_

"Very surprising. I didn't think people cared."

"People care…I care."

_Whoa?! Back up! Did Troy Bolton just udder the words 'care' about little old me? If this is a dream, it's one cruel dream._

I could feel my checks burning up at his comment and I looked down, my hair falling down over my cheeks and I was grateful at that moment that I'd decided not to put it in a ponytail. "You don't have to pretend, Troy. It's not like I expect anything from you. You barely know me, why would you care about me?"

"Well that's not fair. You're passing judgment. How do you know whether or not I care?"_ Oh great, did I just set him off? Is he angry?_

I shrugged. "I guess I don't know, but you probably shouldn't. You'd be wasting your time. I don't deserve…"

"Don't say that. Everyone deserves to be cared about." _He can't be serious. This has got to be a joke, of course. Why else would he be standing in front of me right now? I'm just the butt of another joke._

"Well I don't need it! I don't need anyone to care. And I sure as hell don't need your pity."

"Pity? That's not what this is."

"Yeah, well then, what is it? Trust me, I don't need to be the laughing stock of the school because of you and your friends, so please just leave me alone, okay. I haven't done anything to you." I turned to head back up the walkway, not believing for a second how stupid I was being, actually starting to fall for this nice guy act of his. _Good thing I caught it early._

"You sho…"

It was then that a car pulled up in my driveway, my mom's car to be exact, cutting Troy off from his sentence. My mother, Angeline Montez, got out of the car, sending me a greeting before glancing over at Troy and Arthur. "Gabriella's who's this? A friend of yours?"

"Uh, just a neighbor and he was just leaving," I answered, opening up the door and willing my mother to forget about Troy standing in our grass and come inside the house. I wouldn't dare look in Troy's direction. I didn't want to see his reaction.

"Okay," she answered skeptically, stepping beside me and through the door as I held it open for her. It was seconds before I closed the door behind me that I looked back in the direction of Troy to see he was walking away with Arthur close behind and I couldn't help feeling a slight bit of sorrow and guilt at what had just happened.

As I walked into the house behind my mother, it was clear that she wasn't about to just let this go. "Who was that?"

I shrugged. "No one, just some guy I just met."

She looked at me skeptically. "Why was he here? You know I don't like company when I'm not home, especially those of the opposite sex."

I rolled my eyes at her. As if I could willing get a boy to come over to the house with me alone._ Did she know who I was?_ "He wasn't even in the house, Mom. He walked by with his dog and stopped to talk to me."

"So you know him?"

"Not really. We go to school together."

"Hmm," she said, an unbelieving look in her eyes. "I just don't want you giving into that teenage peer pressure. I already have enough to deal with concerning your brother."

"Mom, trust me, I'm not…I don't do…..that stuff." It was true! I'd never touched a beer or cigarette, I didn't smoke pot, never been invited to a party nor have I had a boyfriend - _and at the age of 16 that's pretty pathetic!_ I haven't kissed anyone either and because of that I haven't had sex. I guess I was every parents' dream but in school I couldn't be lowlier.

"Well, that's good to know," my mother replied, already looking bored and done with our conversation. "I'm going to bed."

She turned on her heels, taking her briefcase and purse with her as she went. Seconds later there was the sound of a door closing and with that I was once again left alone.


	2. Chapter 2

The Story of Me

Chapter 2

The next day at school, I couldn't focus on any of my work. My brain kept drifting and it was drifting off to Troy. I wasn't sure why I kept thinking about him, but it didn't make it any better than half of my classes were with him.

It seemed like oddly enough, there was a connection between us but I couldn't quite place why or how, because honestly it had me a little bit scared. I was scared at the way he'd made me feel just by looking at me with the gorgeous ocean blue eyes…_OH GOD! Here I go again. Snap out of it!_

I turned my head, glancing at Troy who was seated on the opposite side of the room. He was currently staring out the window, his muscular arms folded across his chest, making the shirt appear tighter than it should, highlighting his biceps and defined pectorals. I was so caught up in my gazing that I barely noticed when he turned and caught me staring, jumping when he smiled politely at me.

I blushed and dropped my head, a few stray hairs falling to my face. _Bad idea. Stop staring at his perfection! Not to mention that was extremely creepy! And you wonder why you've never had a boyfriend before. Idiot!_

When the bell finally rang, I wasted no time gathering my belongings and quickly standing up to move to the door. But I was no match for the football player who was moving towards the door at the same time I was and unfortunately his arm knocked mine, making me stumble and drop my books all over the floor.

"Not again," I mumbled. Just my luck. I quickly kneeled down to pick them up, as everyone else files out quickly. Keeping in mind I only have 5 minutes to get to my locker and class which is halfway across campus.

"You're not really good with balance are you?" Troy asked with a playful smile, surprising me as he knelt down beside me to help pick up my things.

As we stood and he handed me my Chemistry textbook, I shrugged, biting my lip and looking anywhere but at those beautiful eyes. "I guess not."

He chuckled. _God! Why was he so perfect?!_ "Might need to work on that."

"I'm a lost cause."

I watched him shake his head. "There's no such thing."

"Well what world are you living in? Because I'd like to be there," I commented, pushing some hair back behind my ear.

He shrugged, and I could tell his eyes were stuck on my face, but I wouldn't look directly at him. "A really good one," he responded with that perfect smile. _Why was he doing this to me?_

"Bolton!" A kid called out from the classroom door. I turned slightly to see his bushy hair friend and teammate, I think his name was Chad, standing there watching us curiously. "You coming to free period practice or what?"

Troy nodded. "Give me a sec." To me he spoke, "You gonna be okay getting to class without another incident?"

I blushed at the smirk he was giving me and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so. Thank you."

"Okay, I'll catch you later then." I almost DIED when he touched my shoulder gently before disappearing, leaving me slack jawed alone in that classroom.

* * *

"So?" Chad Danforth questioned with his signature teasing look as he and Troy entered the locker room to change.

"What?" Troy asked distracted, stripping his jeans in exchange for his practice shorts.

"Who was that girl you were talking to?"

Troy narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Gabriella? She's just in a few of my classes, why?"

Chad smiled. "You like her."

"Chad," Troy warned. "It's not like that."

"Oh yeah, then what is it like? Because from where I was standing…"

"Please don't start this," Troy pleaded, shirtless as he searched his gym back for a shirt.

"Why? You don't want Ice Princess to find out," Chad asked as he finally started to change too.

"Sharpay has nothing to do with this."

Chad scoffed immediately. "Of course she does! She freaking in love with you man!"

Troy shrugged. "I mean, yeah, so what if I like Gabriella. She's nice."

"Don't let Sharpay find out," Chad warned.

"Like I said before, this has nothing to do with her. She's not my girlfriend; she doesn't own me." With that, Troy shut his locker and gave Chad a pointed look before walking into the gym.

Chad chuckled behind him. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

"There's something you're not telling me," Taylor stated as she placed her tray down at the lunch table that afternoon."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about something being up with you and you not telling me what it is."

Gabi shook her head, sipping her drink. "I don't know what would make you think that."

"Because I'm not stupid," Taylor teased. "Seriously, what's up?"

She shrugged. "I wish I could tell you."

"What?"

"I can't even explain it myself, Tay. I'm so confused."

"About what?"

"More like who. About Troy."

"Bolton? Lunkhead basketball playing boy whose best friends with curly Q Chad Danforth, Troy Bolton? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"There's really nothing to tell, Tay! If I could figure out what exactly is going on, then yeah, but at this point, I still don't have a clue."

"Well answer this: do you like him?"

Gabriella sat quiet for a second before shrugging. "Kind of."

"Does he like you?"

She frowned. "How am I supposed to know that?"

Taylor shrugged. "You could ask him." At seeing Gabriella's face in response to her statement she nodded. "Okay, maybe not."

Gabriella sighed. "Troy's cute and all and he seems nice, but he's Troy Bolton for crying out loud and I'm…me."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He probably wants nothing to do with me."

"You don't know that."

"I mean, I don't but it's not that hard to assume."

"You could always ask him…"

"I'm not asking him that! Are you crazy?"

"Fine," Taylor responded, hands up in surrender. Just then the bell rang loudly, signaling the end of lunch and Gabriella sighed as they cleared their trays and grabbed their books.

They parted ways outside the cafeteria door, Taylor going to class and Gabriella heading to her locker.

"Hey there," Troy appeared at Gabriella's locker as school got out for the afternoon. "What's up?"

Gabriella, who was a little taken back, jumped before glancing at him. "Uh, getting my books."

"Hmm, cool," he said. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds as Gabriella continued to switch out her appropriate books as he stood leaning on the locker next to hers. "So, can I ask you something?"

Biting her lip, Gabriella turned to face him. "You kind of just did."

"Well, I wanna ask you something else."

Unsure of what was going on, Gabriella shrugged, confused. "Uh, sure, go ahead?"

"Would it be possible for me to get your number?"

Gabriella's eyes went wide as she stared at Troy in shock. "I…you…my phone number?!" She asked incredulously.

Troy laughed. "Uh…well not your social security number. But yeah your phone number," he spoke to Gabriella's look of shock.

"Uhm, I don't mean to be rude, but why?"

Troy shrugged. "Why else. I thought it was kind of obvious."

When Gabriella didn't say anything, Troy scratched the back of his neck nervously, looking around with a smile. "Ahh, you're gonna make me work for this aren't you? I like you, Gabriella and I'd like to get to know you better."

There was silence for a few more seconds from Gabriella before she almost laughed. "WOW! That is so not what I expected to hear from Troy Bolton." Almost immediately, she covered her mouth, embarrassed that she'd referred to him in third person to his face.

"What did you expect me to say?" He asked nervously.

She shrugged. "I just…I figured…I mean this is social suicide for you."

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Social suicide?"

"I mean…yeah!" She nodded. "You are….you and I'm me. That's…it's not…you shouldn't me doing this."

Troy shook his head with a smile. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't care about what everybody else thinks of me. I've got my own life and my own friends and my own opinions; I'm not going to let anyone tell me what to do or what not to do."

Gabriella stared at him speechless and he smiled a little bit. "Unless of course, you decide not to give me your number."

After a minute, Gabriella turned back to her locker and grabbed a pen. "Do you have a piece of paper?"

Shrugging, Troy pulled up the sleeve on his baseball tee and held out his arm. Gabriella looked at him hesitantly for a second and he nodded. "I promise I'll put it in my phone before I shower."

"Why not put it in your phone now?"

"It's in my car." With a simple nod, Gabriella proceeded to write her number on his arm as he watched her with a proud grin as she blushed.

"You know if you change your mind, I won't be offended," she said, capping her pen and stuffing it in her bag as she closed her locker.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that," Troy answered, pulling down his sleeve. "Expect a call from me."

Gabriella didn't get the chance to say anything in response because he smiled and winked at her before turning and walking the opposite way.


	3. Chapter 3

The Story of Me

Chapter 3

When Gabriella arrived home after school, she was still in shock as she was met by the view of Charlie and some unknown girl making out on the couch.

"Uhm, hello?"

Charlie abruptly pulled away from the girl, moving his hands to a safe place on her body. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"I mean, what are you doing home? I thought you had plans today?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Plans get cancelled and change all the time. I'm just curious as to who your friend is."

"Charlie, maybe I should just go," the girl spoke up suddenly.

"It's none of your business," Charlie snapped as his friend sat looking extremely uncomfortable. "You don't have to go anywhere. This is my house too."

"I don't think mom wouldn't appreciate you practically having sex on her couch."

Charlie sighed, grabbing the girls' hands and storming past his sister, bumping her shoulder in the process. "Fuck you, Gabriella." And with that he stomped up the stairs, leaving Gabriella to roll her eyes and plop down on the couch they had previously been on, propping her feet on the coffee table and dropping her bag on the floor beside her.

Before she got a chance to relax in her moment of silence, there was a ringing from her book bag and she bent over to pick it up, taking out her cell phone to see 'unknown caller' flashing along the screen.

"Hello?" she questioned after swiping the green phone.

"Told you I was serious about calling you," she was greeted with. Recognizing the deep husky voice as Troy's, Gabriella instantly blushed and bit her lip although clearly he couldn't see her.

"I never doubted your seriousness about the situation."

"I know," she could practically hear his smirk. "Just thought I'd say it."

"I guess I should be honored."

There was a silence in which Gabriella wished she could take what she'd just said back, but seconds later there was a chuckle from Troy's end. "You have no idea of the affect you have on people, do you?"

"On who?"

"Me, of course."

"I don't see why or how," Gabriella admitted.

"Trust me."

As Gabriella pondered his obviously admitted fascination for her, he cleared his throat. "You didn't hang up on me, did you?"

"I'm still here," she answered him back quietly.

"Safe to say I'm thoroughly surprised at that."

"I am too."

There was another beat of silence before Troy spoke up again.

"Come out with me tonight?"

Gabriella instantly pulled her head back to look at the phone. "What?"

"Come out with me…"

"Well…I heard you, I just needed to hear you say it again to make sure that's what's you actually meant to say."

"I meant it. Come hang out with me."

"I'm…not sure a date is…"

"It's not a date! Or at least it won't be if you're uncomfortable with that. My friends and I are already hanging out tonight, I want you to join us."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of course it is."

"Troy, seriously. I don't think I'm invited. No one's gonna want me there."

"I want you there! And I just invited you. Are you going to turn me down just like that?"

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Why wouldn't it be? We're friends right, and friends hang out."

"Troy, it's just…"

"Can you give me one reason why we shouldn't hang out?"

"I can give you a thousand!" Gabriella exclaimed quickly, heart beating fast.

"Okay, then what's your first one?"

"Reputation!"

"Irrelevant. Next one?"

"Your friends."

"Will get over it. Anything else?"

"I…fine," she gave in with a sigh. "Where are we meeting?"

"I'll come get you. In an hour. 1255 Oakridge Drive."

"Are you…?"

"I pay attention to detail. The other day when I was walking Arthur, I just happened to notice."

"Troy, you can't just…"

"I'll see you in an hour." And before she could get out another complain he'd hung up on her. Knowing that Troy Bolton would be at her house in an hour had Gabriella a nervous wreck. After she'd finally gotten around the fact that he'd asked her out, she dashed up the stairs to figure out what to wear.

* * *

"This is a really bad idea," Gabriella spoke as the two of them arrived at The Jack, the local hangout spot for most of the high school crowd.

"Don't freak out."

"Troy, your friends don't know me. I don't know them. We're from two different social circles. This will never work!"

"Who cares?"

"I do!" she exclaimed. "And I'm sure they will too."

"I promise you they won't….at least I don't think."

"Well that's reassuring. What if you're wrong?"

"I'm rarely ever wrong."

"Cocky much?"

Troy smiled, taking her hand, which shocked her for a moment before he managed to lead her inside. Gabriella looked around, taking in the noisy and excited scenery that was this place she was dragged into.

"Troy!" Chad called, standing up from the booth he was situated in and slapping his hand as they met. "Finally showed up I see."

"And he brought a friend," a smirking guy with shaggy dark hair spoke up, looking Gabriella up and down. "I'm Jason Cross and you are?"

Gabriella's eyes widened when he reached his hand out to take her free one and kiss it. Troy pushed Jason and his hand back while rolling his eyes. "Leave her alone, Jase, she's not interested."

"Gabriella, right?" Chad asked while Troy and Jason were preoccupied. Gabriella nodded, but she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. Troy probably talked about her, Chad was his best friend after all. "Nice to finally meet you. This one over here's been talking about you for the last…OW!"

Gabriella watched, overwhelmed as Troy smiled at her after elbowing Chad hard in the ribs. "Ignore him. Like Jason, he has no idea what he's talking about."

"Troysie!" A platinum blond appeared out of nowhere, throwing her arms around and uncomfortable looking Troy's neck. "I missed you! Why are you so late?"

Troy gently removed Sharpay's arms from around him while glancing back at the shy brunette standing off to the side of him. "Uh, I had to pick up a friend."

"Oh!" Sharpay turned her head, finally noticing Gabriella and taking in her appearance, her face instantly curling up in disgust. "Who is your little friend?"

Chad looked over at Troy while he rolled his eyes. "Guys this is Gabriella, Gabi meet Chad, Jason, Zeke, Amanda, and Sharpay."

Gabriella tried to offer a genuine smile as Troy's friends all looked at her, smiling politely, but she had a strong feeling that someone at this table wasn't going to like her, if not all.

Two hours later, the group walked out of The Jack, most of them laughing while Gabriella trailed behind awkwardly. The guys were goofing off as Sharpay walked along the side of them, attempting to stay as close as possible to Troy as they walked.

"Don't worry about her," the girl she remembered as Amanda said as she walked up next to her. "She'll get over it eventually."

"Get over what?"

"Her jealousy."

"Of who? Not me?"

Amanda laughed. "Yeah you. Sharpay has this unusual obsession with Troy and he barely gives her the time of day. But like I said, she'll get over it. The Ice Queen can't always have her way."

"Ice Queen?"

"It's our nickname for her. Chad started it. I swear underneath that busy head of his is a genius brain."

"I…still don't get why she would be jealous of me."

"Because Troy brought you _here_ tonight. First of all, the guy never brings a girl to meet us, he usually just sneaks off with them without saying anything to us. Second, she's been trying to get in his pants for years now, and it still hasn't worked. She's frustrated….both ways," Amanda added at the end, giggling to herself.

"Look…I don't want any problems…"

"Oh, too late! She already sees you as a threat."

Gabriella's face dropped. "But he invited me!"

"You think she cares? Sharpay is vicious and dangerous and she always gets what she wants….as long as it's not Troy. In her mind, she still has a shot. Or she did, until he brought you along. You've just become target numero uno in Sharpay's eyes."

Gabriella watched silently as Amanda skipped ahead, grabbing onto Jason's arm. Troy appeared seconds later, dropping back from the group to walk with her. "Hey, you okay?"

Gabriella bit her lip, looking to Sharpay who had turned and scowled at her the minute Troy dropped back to walk with her. "Yeah, I'm cool."

Gabriella's POV

As we walked back to the cars, Troy said a quick goodbye to his friends, before opening the door to the passenger seat for me. We rode back to my house in silence and when we arrived, he'd opened the door for me again to get out. We walked up to the door and Troy stayed silent, his hands in his pockets. We stood awkwardly on the porch for a second, before I sighed and broke the silence.

"Thank you for insisting I come out with you tonight. I uhh appreciate you wanting to include me."

He smiled. "Of course. Did you have fun?"

"More or less." When he raised an eyebrow at me, I shrugged. "I don't think everyone likes me, but it's to be expected."

Troy shook his head. "Yeah, sorry about Sharpay. Trust me, it's not you, she's a bit overdramatic. I wouldn't worry about it."

"I'm not so sure about that. Did you see the way she looked at me? I told you this wasn't a good idea…"

"Stop, okay?" Troy spoke, stepping forward to grab my hands. _Oh My God!_ "She's all talk, she won't be a problem."

"Hope you're right."

Glancing around, I watched Troy take in the surroundings. "Nobody home?" He questioned, referring to dark house.

I shrugged. "Probably not. Mom works late and my brother does what he wants."

"What about your dad?"

I sighed, looking away, blinking back tears before they could appear. "My Dad's not around anymore."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Troy's face pale. "Shit! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine," I replied, shaking my head, looking down.

We were quiet for a moment before he shoulder me gently to get my attention. "Would you be offended if I asked what happened?"

Sighing and clearing my throat, I stared up at the moon, before turning to glance at him. "Well, he decided that he didn't want kids anymore. I guess my brother and I were too much to handle."

"How'd your mom take that?"

"I think she knew it was coming. I mean, it's not really affected by it. Ever since he left, she's been pretty much nonexistent at home. Maybe she's keeping her mind off it by staying busy, but either way she doesn't talk to us about it."

"Harsh," he said, his hand going back to his pockets again. "You ever think he might come back one day?"

I shrugged again. "I don't know, maybe. I doubt it though. For one, we do just fine without him and I don't think he'd want to come back to a drug addict and a loser as kids."

"You're not a loser, Gabriella."

I bit my lip. "How do you know I'm not drug addict?"

"Seriously."

"Clearly, we aren't seeing the same person here."

"Well, to me, you're not a loser."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Gabriella, you…you don't see what I see, do you?"

"Well, I'm not sure what you see," I admitted.

Hesitating for less than a second, Troy's hand came up to grab my chin and seconds later I felt his soft lips touch my own in a gentle kiss. _Dear God, I think I'm dreaming. Troy Bolton is not kissing me right now_! Pulling away, it took a minute for me to open my eyes and I bit my lip as I stared back at him.

"I see you," he stated. "Not exactly the real you yet, but I can only hope that sometime soon you'll allow me to see that. You're not who everyone else sees you as that's for sure, because you're so much more. Especially from what you see yourself."

"Troy..." I breathed.

"You don't need to hide from me."

It took me a second, but I finally came to terms with what was going on and to say I freaked out was an understatement. My heart beating a mile a minute, my lips tingling and hands shaking, I dug for my keys and reached to unlock the door.

"Gabriella…" Troy tried to talk to me, but once I got the door unlocked, I turned around abruptly, stopping his sentence.

"I…I…thank you for tonight. Uhm….I have to go. Goodnight." And with that I went in and quickly shut the door in his face, sliding down the frame, letting tears come to my eyes (at what was I crying, I wasn't sure) as I heard Troy's footsteps retreat and the sound of his engine turning over before he drove away.

What the hell was happening here?

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! I actually got it out earlier than I thought I would because I've had a few extra hours to kill, so I thought you guys would like a new chapter. Let me know what you think in a review! **

**And the next chapter of BvsL is done and should be out soon, I'm just not sure what day I'll post it yet. (:**


	4. Chapter 4

The Story of Me

Chapter 4

Gabriella's POV

After Friday night with Troy, I'd decided to isolate myself. Not in a feeling sorry for myself way, but in an I needed to figure things out way. Not only had Troy Bolton kissed me, but he made it pretty clear that his feelings for me weren't just those of being platonic friends. Maybe at first they might have been, but now it was definitely more.

I wasn't scared…I mean…oh who am I kidding. I'm more scared than I've ever been before. Despite what Troy might tell me about him not caring about everyone else and what they thought, I would care. I wouldn't be able to ignore the looks and the whispers. We came from two different worlds and I was without a doubt sure that the response to Troy and I being friends, let alone anything more would not be a good one.

So I'd spent the entire weekend in my room. I only came out for food (which was takeout) and to shower, only to put back on a different set of pajamas. I spoke to Taylor briefly on IM, and Charlie and I steered clear of each other. But it was Monday morning now. No more hiding. Unfortunately, now I had to go to school, which meant I had to see Troy and after ignoring his calls and texts all weekend, I was also scared of his response. What if he had time to think over the weekend and didn't feel the same way about me as he did when he'd kissed me? He probably realized how stupid and idiotic he was being by liking me and then I'd be humiliated because he'd want nothing more than to forget all about me.

When I finally pulled myself out of bed, I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, inspecting myself. From my semi-long hair pulled into its messy bun atop my head, my pale blue camisole and my ratty old sweatpants. What could a guy like Troy possibly see in me? With a sigh, I moved to my closet wondering if I should attempt to look somewhat decent today. After a quick shower, I pulled out a pair of medium wash jeans and a white t-shirt with my favorite gray short sleeved cardigan to go over it. I put on a pair of matching gray boots with my outfit and some cute yet simple jewelry and let my hair air dry while I did some light make up on my face. Before leaving my room, I tousled my hair with some mousse to keep it from frizzing up and gave myself one last look in the mirror before dashing down the stairs.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Charlie asked me as I entered the kitchen.

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "You don't look like you. You're actually dressed like a girl."

"Newsflash, dimwit, I am a girl. Is it a crime for me to want to look nice every now and then?"

"Whatever," he said finishing up his cereal as our mom sashayed into the kitchen.

"You guys ready to go?"

"You're taking us to school?" I asked confused.

"Would you rather take the bus?" she asked me with a pointed look and I quickly shut up. Who was I to turn down a free ride to school? This beat that stinky school bus with all the kids who were just going to either pick on or ignore me anyway.

When we arrived at school 15 minutes later, Charlie was quick to exit the car, slamming the door behind him and leaving me and mom alone. Before I could get out, my mother reached across and grabbed my arm. _Oh God! Was she about to have another talk with me?_

"Gabi, honey, I…not that I'm complaining, but why do you look so nice today?"

I sighed. "I just wanted to look nice mom."

"So this isn't about impressing that boy from the other night?"

With a groan, I opened the door. "I have to go to school, I'll be late. I'll see you later, thanks for the ride." I closed the door before she could say anything else and when I looked back when I was halfway up the steps she realized she had no other choice but to pull away.

As I made my way to my locker, I couldn't say I was entirely surprised by the reactions of my fellow classmates. Half didn't know who I was so I knew they were probably thinking I was a new girl and the other half might have had a clue who I was and were wondering who the hell was I trying to impress.

I could tell myself that the answer to that question was no one, but I knew better than that.

Feeling just a slight bit uncomfortable with the stares, I hugged my sweater tighter to me and ignored them as I reached my locker. I put in my combination and failed at opening my locker 3 times. I groaned, getting ready to give up and just throw my head into the locker before a hand appeared in front of me, stopping my head all together. "What's your combination?"

I turned to look at Troy and I swear I about fainted. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at his perfection, my mouth almost dropping open right then and there. But I had more sense than that. I must have stared too long because he was still looking at me expectantly with an eyebrow raised. "Gabriella?"

"Uh…"

He smirked at me then. _God was seriously either punishing or rewarded me for something! At this point I wasn't sure what, but I was complaining._ "I'm not gonna steal your locker combination."

I swallowed, suddenly feeling extremely embarrassed. "21-6-14."

He smiled, spinning my combination before banging his fist against the locker and watching as the locker seemed to open up at his command.

I sighed, stepping forward to get my books out. "I don't get how come it opens up for everyone but me!"

I watched out of the corner of my eye as he stood next to my locker casually, shrugging. "14's my lucky number."

I stopped to look at him and he smiled again. "Basketball jersey number."

Nodding, I closed my locker and moved to walk to class. "Right."

I'm not sure why I expected him to just walk off, but he quickly caught up to me. "So how was your weekend?"

I bit my lip, keeping my eyes on the floor ahead of me. "Quiet."

"You didn't return any of my texts or calls."

I nodded, hugging my books closer to my chest. "I know."

He stopped, tugging on my arm to make me stop as well and face him. "And why is that?"

Keeping my eyes on his shoes, I shrugged. "Gabriella seriously."

"I'm…not sure."

"Did you not want to talk to me?"

"I mean I did, but I…second guessed myself."

I looked up just in time to catch his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion. "Wait a minute, what? Why would you be second guessing yourself?"

_Why did he have to be so caring? If he had just not bothered to talk to me today, I would have been perfectly fine! I would have moved on because that's what I'm used to! No one normally bothers to care about me._

"Troy I…"I stopped, unable to form words and seconds later I felt his hand on my chin, bringing it up to look into those gorgeous blue eyes.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

I shrugged. "This isn't normal. You're not supposed to talk to me, you're not supposed to like me, and you weren't supposed to kiss me. I'm supposed to be the loser girl with a crush on this amazing guy that I know I'll never have."

"Well I'm flattered that you think I'm amazing," he started to joke, but I rolled my eyes, turning away just seconds before he grabbed my hand again. "Who said? I mean who's making up these rules you're trying to follow?"

"Society Troy! East High! You and I are not supposed to happen!"

"Says who? What happens if I want us to happen?"

"You don't."

"What?"

"In a fantasy world, you'd be the perfect guy falling for someone like me, but in reality there's some perfect girl out there for you."

"And who says that girl isn't you?"

I looked up at him shaking my head. "It's not…"

"What if I want it to be?"

"You want a lot of things that won't happen."

"And who says? Gabriella, there's no rule that says we have to follow all these stupid high school status quos. I can't help it if I like you."

"How do I know you really like me?" I answered with my eyes closed.

"Because I'm telling you that I do. I'm promising you. I'm not playing a game here."

I sighed, biting my lip again as I noticed how empty the hallways were starting to get. "Can we talk about this later?"

"You're not running away from me are you?"

I shook my head. "Promise."

Another nod and Troy grabbed my hand quickly before I could realize what he was doing and kissed it softly, sending me one of those smiles before he let go. "Okay, later then. I'll text you."

As I stood in a daze, watching him walk off, I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding until now and turned to continue to class, determined to figure this thing out once and for all.

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**Yay I wasn't expecting to update today, but I had a very relaxing and surprising release from most of my classes today. Therefore I'm free all day today until 8pm and most of the things that I was scrambling to get done have been finished or are halfway finished and the rest can be done in moderation over the weekend and Thanksgiving break.**

**So I hope you enjoyed it and those of you who read Band vs. Love, I am actually posting the next chapter to that as soon as I finish this one.**

**Review (and link to Gabriella's outfit described in this chapter is in my profile)**


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